Friday, August 8, 2008

Broadacre City Gas Station

Prompted by a PrairieMod post, I was inspired to dig up some photos I took on a trip to see Frank Lloyd Wright's only gas station back in 2001.

The R.W. Lindholm Service Station, now 50 years old, is straight out of the Broadacre City plan - a concept for decentralization of the American built landscape that Wright promoted in the 1930's as the automobile allowed a new great freedom of transportation. A huge model was constructed (in transportable sections) by apprentices at Taliesin West and Wright took it around the country as he lectured on the future of a more organically built America.

My college buddy Neal, then living near Minneapolis, rode shotgun as we drove north (and drove and drove) to Cloquet, Minnesota, a little town just sound of Duluth. When we arrived at the site, we met a young couple who had also made this building the destination of a long driving trip, and I noticed they had a copy of W. A. Storrer's catalog of Frank Lloyd Wright's built works in hand. I held my well-worn copy up as we approached them and we "clinked" them together as if we were making a toast. Thank you Mr. Storrer.

The PrarieMod post (where you can find a link to an interview with the apprentice who supervised the construction):